New Prairie likes the smell of victory

October 28, 2006|STEVE LOWE Tribune Correspondent

NEW CARLISLE -- According to New Prairie football coach Bart Curtis, his offense stunk Friday night. The Cougars' option attack struggled for a mere 289 yards rushing, just 314 total, and only two (yep, just two) Cougars managed to break 100 yards on the ground as New Prairie "stunk" it up in a 27-6 Class 3-A sectional victory over Marian at Amzie Miller Field. Fifth-ranked New Prairie (10-1) still earned the right to play for the sectional title next Friday against 9-2 Culver Academy. "You've got to play great defense to win championships, and it's a good thing we did because we stunk it up on offense tonight," Curtis said. "We did not execute, and it was a credit to them because they had a great defensive scheme." That may be a stretch, but Curtis had a great defensive scheme of his own -- Cody Williamson. Williamson tied a New Prairie record with three interceptions, all coming in Cougar territory to snuff out Marian drives. "I just sat back and did what I was supposed to do," Williamson said. "Our D-line put pressure on them and I read his eyes." Pick No. 4 and the outright school record tipped off his hands more than once in the fourth quarter as Marian tried desperately to get back in the game through the air. "I'll hear about it for a while, but oh well," Williamson said. "That kid was a ball hawk tonight," Curtis gushed. He certainly had enough opportunities. After New Prairie jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, Marian coach Reggie Glon had little choice but to abandon his own option scheme in favor of a spread passing offense. Connor Creevey, who injured his shoulder in last week's win over Tippecanoe Valley, replaced Mike Thomas at quarterback in the second half. "We were hoping we didn't have to use (Creevey)," Glon said. "Connor's a little bit better thrower and has worked a lot longer on the offensive side, especially on the two-minute drill, which was basically what we were doing. "We stayed in the shotgun because we didn't want to run a whole lot with him." Unfortunately for the Knights, that's not the type of offense that led them to an 8-3 record this year. "Now we're going to have to throw Reggie out of the wishbone association," Curtis joked. At New Carlisle Marian0060 -- 6New Prairie14706 -- 27NP -- Zach Blackwood 5 run (Cody Williamson kick) NP -- Nick Cummings 3 run (Williamson kick) NP -- Adam Westenfeld 14 pass from Blackwood (Williamson kick) M -- Jared Diltz 3 run (kick failed) NP -- Cummings 4 run (kick failed) MarianNPFirst downs1517Yards rushing69289Yards passing11625Passing11-36-32-3-0Punting3-352-25Fumbles lost3-03-1Yards penalized4-334-20